Overflowing wheelbarrow

A mound of bold purple mums becomes the focal point among foliage in a wheelbarrow. In front of the mums, purple flowering kale blends with trailing bacopa. Spurge brings a hint of red to the far right and left corners. The purple-tinted leaves of bugleweed separate two clumps of spiky santolina. Fox-red curly sedge adds an airy note in back.

Vertical drama

Super simple

Beautiful containers can be as simple as one type of plant per pot. Group several one-plant pots for maximum impact. Here, pots of mums, pansies, burning bush and kalanchoe add bright fall color to the patio setting.

Texture and color

A splash from a fall aster and a purple-blue petunia is all the color this handsome container needs. The rest is done with texture. The crock uses 'Sungal' aster, 'Shenandoah' switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), donkeytail spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites), purple petunias and tricolor sage.

Frost-kissed

You can enjoy the beauty of a frosty morning--knowing it won't harm your container garden--with this simple grouping of hens-and-chicks (Sempervivum), Ajuga reptans 'Mahogany', and flowering kale. All three plants take the autumn chill with ease.

Simple and soothing

This easy container features a rugged dwarf hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) and a pair of lavender violas (Viola spp.) for a soothing look. A mulch of coarse stones accented by one larger stone helps create a natural scene in miniature.